The Effects of Neurosculpting® Meditation on Stress, Anxiety and Sleep on one group of college students

Objective: The purpose of this study was to examine if 11 weeks of Neurosculpting® meditation improved sleep and other variables in college aged students. Participants: Fifteen undergraduate students. Methods: Subjects were evaluated at the beginning and end of the semester using two tools: The Pittsburg Sleep Quality Index and the Depression Anxiety Stress Scale. During each session, heart rate and heart rate variability were measured using a smartphone app, fingertip sensor, and HRV monitor. Subjects received 60 minutes of Neurosculpting® Meditation, one time per week, for 11 weeks. Results: The average score of both the DASS and PSQI decreased (p = .54) and (p = .08) respectively. Within each session, average HR decreased and average HRV increased. However, neither variable showed significant changes from the beginning to the end of the semester. Conclusions: This study demonstrated that consistent Neurosculpting® meditation sessions may improve heart rate variability and sleep in college aged students.

College Students’ Perceptions of Social Interactions in College Physical Activity Classes

Physical activity (PA) has been found to benefit a person in many ways. One benefit of being physically active is the social component. This deals with interacting with someone before, during, or after the activity. The purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of social interactions on college-aged students during their PA class. Participants for this study included 408 college-aged students (272 males, 136 females) who were surveyed regarding their interactions during their PA class. The survey contained Likert scale questions and open-ended questions, which required the students to respond with written answers. In short, these students thought that their interactions during their PA were important and that the interactions were enjoyable. These results, along with other results from this study, highlight the positive benefits that come from being involved in PA.

Sexually Transmitted Infections Among College Students

Objective: To review the common types and prevalence of sexually transmitted infections (STIs) among college students. Methods: Conducted a literature search in Google and PubMed, and 33 reports were analyzed on this subject. Results: The highest prevalence of STIs are among college aged students with approximately two thirds of students reporting having sex in the last year; men and women having 14 and 12 sex partners, respectively, on average in college. STIs range from common curable ones like chlamydia to deadly incurable ones like human immunodeficiency virus. Conclusion: Strategies to prevent STIs to help protect not only one’s health, but the health of others, are to limit the number of sex partners, wear a condom, get tested, and receive vaccinations that prevent STIs.

Alcohol Use and Related Consequences for Monoracial and Multiracial Native American/American Indian College students

Native American/American Indian (NA/AI) and Multiracial (those who claim more than one racial group) people report notably high alcohol use compared to other racial groups in the United States. However, NA/AI and Multiracial college students also report differences in their motivations for drinking alcohol. Therefore, it remains unclear if Multiracial NA/AI individuals are at different risk for alcohol use and negative alcohol-related consequences, and if there are distinct patterns of risk factors for alcohol consumption in these understudied populations. Given that college-aged students are at particularly high risk for alcohol use, we used the AlcoholEdu for CollegeTM survey in an exploratory study to compare the association between initial drinking age, college location (urban versus rural), and alcohol use motivations and consequences between monoracial NA/AI (N = 2,359) and Multiracial NA/AI college-aged students (N = 6,263). Overall, monoracial NA/AI students reported higher incidences of alcohol use and alcohol-related problems such as blacking out and missing class, compared to Multiracial NA/AI students. Risk factors, including earlier drinking age, impacted monoracial NA/AI students more than Multiracial NA/AI students, leading to higher rates of missing class and impaired driving. Despite similar levels of Internal Coping motivations for drinking (e.g., to feel more confident or sure of yourself), monoracial NA/AI students reported drinking more than Multiracial students and experiencing higher rates negative drinking-related outcomes. These results suggest that Multiracial NA/AI students may draw on protective factors not accessible to monoracial NA/AI students, highlighting the need for tailored interventions for students at highest risk.

The Effects of Music on Student Step Counts and Time in Activity in College Basketball Activity Classes

Music is a powerful influence in life. We hear music at work, in the car, at the mall, and in our homes. Music has also been found to have an affect during physical activity. The purpose of this study was to examine the effects of music on physical activity rates, via pedometers, of college-aged students in basketball class. For this study 106 college-aged students participated in this study. Two classes played basketball with no music playing during game play. Two other classes played basketball with music playing during game play. It was found that the two classes that played basketball with music took more steps and were in more time in activity.